Where does genius play a part in nature of their work? Financial modeling? Market research? ... social aptitude?
Scale 1-10, using your own judgement.
Feel free to specify intern, analyst, associate, etc. level work.
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Genius? You won't find that it plays a part in any of the job.
Bankers seek out intellectually competent analysts because they need junior resources capable of managing very detail-oriented work and communicating properly while maintaining tight deadlines.
This really turns on your definition of intellectually challenging. Very little that you do in banking is mind-bendingly difficult as an individual task. But try updating a 120-page deck, frantically researching a question that likely has no predetermined answer, building an acc/dil, DCF, LBO and PF analysis at 3:00 AM using company numbers that don't even tie and being held to an impossible-to-meet standard of making zero mistakes. That may not be intellectually challenging by some definitions, but it will almost certainly stress out even the most intelligent individuals.
talking of raw IQ or EQ or what?
anyway to try to answer your question:
if you want to be the best - very if you want to collect the paycheck - you need only minimum
-5
How intelligent does one truly have to be in the world of finance? (Originally Posted: 03/14/2017)
Hi everyone. I feel as if many of the people that work in hedge funds, investment banks, private equity/venture capital firms, etc and have risen to the highest levels in their field are all extremely smart.
From what I've seen, the majority of these people have gone to Ivy League or Ivy-level schools. So I pose the question of how intelligent does one have to be to succeed in the aforementioned fields and to rise to the top and make lots of money along the way?
Intelligence is hard to define, impossible to measure, domain specific and not static so it's not something you should be wasting time thinking about (like luck). That said, if you're too dumb to be competent at basic tasks then you probably don't have the baseline intelligence required.
2200+ SAT or 32+ ACT is a good proxy
They have changed the SAT back to the old scoring system.
No one knows
Intelligence comes with experience and consistent learning.
Better to be good looking.
As long as you know that 1+1 =3, you're fine.
Revenue synergy from merger model reference?
Hahaha
You need to have over 9,000 smart.
Most video games only go up to 99...
People who make it fit a certain profile before they even check the SAT/GPA box. Just color inside the lines and you'll be fine.
Honestly, one of the 'dumber' people I know works at a New York investment bank as an analyst. Dude had a pretty low gpa (under 3) from a semi-target but is a smooth as shit talker. Intelligence can be measured in lots of ways and someone obviously thought he had what it took. Also I'm not sure of the tiers in IB, it's definitely not GS, but it was one of the bigger ones. Probably would be considered tier 2.
Rather be able to connect with people, run a deal, find a deal, and anticipate my bosses needs...than solve a math question or Excel formula correctly.
Who cares? There's no clear recipe of characteristics for making it in any field. Sure, intelligence is important in finance, but if you're looking to see which side of some imaginary cut off line you're on, you'll never know.
Much better to focus on what people have actually done to work in your target field and see how you can leverage your strengths and build skills to provide a similar value-add. Just my $0.02.
This might be one of those situations, "If you have to ask..."
Agreed
Looks, ability to conform, and social skills ultimately matter more than intelligence, except in trading. Coming from a wealthy family doesn't hurt either.
How intelligent? Not that that intelligent and the higher they move up the more "used car salesman-ey" they have to be.
Pretty dumb. Let's face it truly intelligent people don't follow some formulaic life of study hard in high school, go to Harvard, go to GS, and finally go to Blackstone. They are too busy carving their own paths. Most people I have met in finance are slightly above average intelligence.
Don't think raw intelligence matters past a certain point for IB. I'd say work ethic and desire to be successful are most important because if you put in enough effort, you can become knowledgable on any subject. I'm from a non-target, had a 1900 SAT and made it to a BB/EB.
Your question doesn't only apply to finance. Trim it down: "I feel as if many of the people that... have risen to the highest levels in their field are all extremely smart."
People at the top are undoubtedly smart, masters in their field, discerning and incredibly perceptive. These last two qualities are what launch someone who is "smart" up to the top - you must be able to take calculated risks and strategically play politics. You can clearly see the difference in these soft qualities between top academics and successful industry titans.
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